Raspberry Rendezvous
by asecondgrace
Summary: Fluffy AU meet-cute.


"Holy cow, I think that was the best one we've seen all day!" The woman behind the counter was all smiles as she watched the couple in front of her slowly pull apart. "Passionate Plum for you, and a Seductive Strawberry for the lucky girl."

The boy at the head of the line grinned as he took both cups and handed one to the pixie-like figure beaming up at him. They both took their straws into their mouths at the same time, twin tubes of florescent plastic held tight between kiss-fresh lips. _It's like something out of a Hallmark movie_, Blaine thought to himself from his place three couples back, then wondered if there was a way to remove that particular channel from his cable package.

Another couple approached the register and, like every couple that had come before them that day, flung their arms around each other and embraced. Their tongues seemed to creep so far down one another's throats, Blaine was pretty sure one might swallow the other whole before they even placed their order. At the rate things were going for him, he wasn't sure he'd mind seeing if it did. If nothing else, it could serve as a warning to the other couples. Even if his favorite smoothie shop was offering a buy one, get one offer for couples willing to engage in a little PDA, he didn't see why people couldn't at least try to be a little more restrained. It wasn't like they got a free boost if the cashier could count their fillings, or anything.

There was a time, when he was younger and more naive, that Valentines Day had been Blaine's favorite day of the year. Much like children look forward to a Christmas morning when Santa brings them exactly what they've wished for, Blaine had looked forward to Valentines Day. Not just any Valentines Day, either, but _the_ Valentines Day. The one that would find him warm and nestled in another's arms, bathed in the glow of that glorious and mythical thing they called True Love.

But that was a long time ago, and as children do away with Santa, Blaine had done away with love. He wasn't sure what had been his final straw. There'd been Sebastian, the boyfriend who stopped calling after Blaine had finally followed him to his bed. Gary had given him crabs after cheating on him over spring break. Marcus was a friend of a friend whose idea of a great first date had been tipping cows. Sandoval was the personal trainer who always seemed a little too eager to offer Blaine a new low-carb protein shake along with suggestions for how he could lose that last bit of softness at his belly. Last, but not least, there'd been Ezra, the militant vegan who'd dumped him once it became clear that Blaine wasn't willing to part with little things like his favorite loafers, his lanolin-based moisturizer, or the seats in his car. Blaine was usually a pretty accommodating guy, but not even Ezra's master blow job skills could convince him to give up bacon.

The line ahead of him began to creep forward, slowly, but surely, and Blaine found himself chuckling as he wondered who would be more offended if they could see how much ice cream he was planning to eat when he got home - Ezra, or Sandoval. That led to thoughts of Ezra _with_ Sandoval, and the visuals proved distracting enough that Blaine didn't notice the person talking to him until he felt their finger on his shoulder.

"Excuse me?" The man behind him was tall and lean, with bright blue eyes that perfectly matched the scarf wrapped around his neck. "The last pair of lovebirds didn't take very long. I don't normally make assumptions about the personal lives of complete strangers, but I think someone's sleeping on the couch tonight."

"Besides me?" Blaine asked, closing the distance between himself and the couple currently sucking face at the register.

The man nodded slowly. "Fight with your sweetie?" he asked, digging his hands into his coat pockets.

Blaine shook his head. "More like no sweetie to fight with." He heaved a sigh and stared up at the menu boards, debating between the peach passion and the berry bonanza for a moment before finally deciding on the raspberry rendezvous. "Not for the last six months."

"I'm sorry," the man said, looking and sounding more genuine than most of Blaine's friends had for some time. "Me, too. Well, seven months, not six. His visa expired. The kind that lets you live here, not the kind that lets you shop here, though I suppose it lets you do that too, and-" He took a deep breath and held it for a few seconds before slowly letting it out and giving him a tentative smile. "We're still friends. You?"

Blaine gave him another look and felt the corner of his mouth turn up in a grin. He was cute, with thick, brown hair and pale skin tinted pink from the cold. "Difference of opinion. I look at a steak, and I see dinner. He looked at it, and he saw, well, never mind."

"Next!" the boy behind the register called, waving for Blaine to approach.

"Raspberry rendezvous," Blaine said, reaching into his pocket. His hand came down against the seam, and he froze as he tried to process this unexpected bit of information. "Excuse me," he told the cashier. "Just a minute, I think I put my wallet in my other..." Blaine trailed off as he went through his other pockets in turn, groaning softly to himself when all turned up little more than his phone, keys, gloves, and pocket lint.

"_Darling_," the voice of the man behind him purred as he stepped up close enough for Blaine to smell his cologne. "How many times do I have to tell you this on _me_?" He pulled out his own wallet and slid his debit card onto the counter. "I'm not going to let you pay for yourself on today, of all days."

Blaine fought to keep from laughing as he looked up and the man winked at him. "You spoil me too much."

The man leaned in closer and grinned. "I know I do, and I know you love it."

The cashier cocked his head and stared at them both. "Are you guys gonna make out, or what? I need to know how many to charge you for."

The man beside Blaine pulled away, color draining from his face as he stared longingly at Blaine's lips. "I'm having the same, and I'll pay for both. We're not really into public displays of-"

"We could make an exception," Blaine said, placing his hand on the man's wrist. "After all, it's kind of an anniversary. Don't you remember? It's the day we met."

The man swallowed and moved his hand free before slipping it into Blaine's. "How could I forget?" His fingers curled around Blaine's and he came in closer. "If you're sure you don't-"

Blaine closed his mouth over the man's and reached up to cup his cheek with his free hand. Blaine groaned a little when he felt the man's arms circle around him, then a little more as the soft warmth of his tongue entered Blaine's mouth. The man tasted of vanilla lattes and peppermint, and he smelled like something Blaine could only think of as _warm_ and _good_ and _never go away_.

"For two guys who aren't into PDA, you put on a hell of a show," the cashier said, snapping them back to reality.

"I'll say," the woman behind the counter said. "I take it back, what I said about that couple earlier. You guys take the cake."

"I'll um, settle for taking the smoothie," Blaine said, taking the cups she offered and handing one to the man he'd been kissing seconds earlier. "Thanks."

The man and the woman behind the counter spoke at the same time. "Don't mention it."

Blaine lifted his cup and poked it against the man's in a sort of toast. "To us?" The man joined him in the toast and smiled as he took his first sip. Blaine led him to the door and held it open. "I'm Blaine," he said, once again offering his hand once they were outside and out of the employees' earshot.

"Kurt," the man said, twining their fingers together and looking into his eyes. "Would it be wildly presumptuous of me to ask if you'd have dinner with me?"

Blaine looked up at him and grinned. "Only if it's presumptuous of me to say yes." He pressed his fingers tighter around Kurt's. "After all, it _is _our anniversary."

"So it is," Kurt said, falling into step beside Blaine as they made their way down the street. "So it is."


End file.
